Housing crisis: friendship goes further than finance

As the cost-of-living continues to bite research has shown that if people have good relationships with their landlord, they are more likely to stay put regardless of rent increases.

Inflation figures are still through the roof, with the cost of food, energy, rent and mortgages putting people out of pocket. According to the latest figures from the property website Zoopla, average rents in London have hit £1,978 a month – an increase of 15.2% over the last two months – while Rightmove said annual rent inflation in the capital city was running at 15.7%.

However, with the cost-of-living continuing to rise, research from Uswitch, a credit broker for consumer credit products, has discovered that if tenants have a good relationship with their landlord they are more likely to stay in their homes rather than look for something more affordable.

Research, which was brought to light yesterday after the Guardian reported on the ‘super charged fight for rental properties’, found 44% of people aged 55 and over are the most likely to renew their contract even if their rent is increased and that 51% of Landlords and 68% of tenants surveyed agreed that communication is the key to a successful landlord-tenant relationship.

However, findings also displayed that half of tenants involved in the research do plan to leave their home if the rent is drastically increased. In addition, younger people were also found to be less likely to renew their tenancy based on whether they had a good relationship with their landlord – only 26% of those surveyed said they would.

Against this backdrop, looking in-depth at what makes a good relationship between landlords and tenants, communication was determined to be the most important, with seven in 10 tenants mentioning it. However, trust fell closely behind as tenants claimed it was important they could rely on landlords to fix any major maintenance problems in their home.

As well as communication and honesty, tenants believed a landlords ability to be able to abide to the terms and conditions of their rental contract to be crucial and being aware of their responsibilities.

Commenting on the findings, Uswitch Buy-to-Let Mortgage’s Expert, Kellie Steed, said: ‘It is clear from our survey data that tenants place a lot of importance on the positive values that go into a successful landlord-tenant relationship. The top five qualities were all selected by more than half of the tenants surveyed, and it is these positive relationship building blocks that have influenced 36% to consider renewing their contract on a higher rent.’

Image: Chris Robert